Wednesday, 2 July 2014

3 July 2014

Charles de Gaulle
once commented that politics were far too important to be left to the
politicians. It appears our diplomats have adopted the same view about
diplomacy, if the case of the disgraced Malaysian diplomat is any guideline.

By and large, we
are well served by our public servants, and Ministers are usually extremely
loyally supported, whatever their foibles. But when things go wrong, they often
do so in a mighty way. I well recall seeing a former Prime Minister
incandescent with rage after a comparatively junior official told him of plans
to release adverse economic figures just a few days before an election. When
the Prime Minister reminded him of this, this official arrogantly and utterly
naively replied, “That is not my problem, Prime Minister.”

The same
breathtaking dose of unreality seems to be behind MFAT’s Malaysian diplomat
SNAFU. Whoever thought the “our chaps will talk quietly to your chaps” approach
that appears to have been adopted was smart and sustainable, let along morally
defensible, deserves their head read. Yet these are the same people who shudder
visibly at the idea of politicians taking too hands-on a role in foreign policy
formation because of its apparent subtlety and sensitivity, which leaves it far
too important to be left to people who in Sir Robin Day’s infamous words are
“mere here today, gone tomorrow politicians.”

Well, the case of
the Malaysian diplomat has knocked any pretence of credibility that argument
may have had, not just for six, but right out of the park and down the street.
Diplomats of all people should not be letting down their political masters this
way, let alone being so amoral when it comes to the instance of prosecuting a
serious case like attempted rape.

Should we be
altogether surprised? I venture to suggest not, sadly. The culture of many of
our diplomats stems from the British Foreign Office. And it is not that many
years ago that Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt and possibly even Hollis were
protected by the “club” because ‘decent chaps” could not be Soviet spies.Or that our own Paddy Costello was similarly
protected.

It has been a
week of bizarre events. First up, Labour said it would ensure new migrants did
not live in Auckland. Short of ankle bracelets and leg irons, how on earth was it
ever going to enforce such a crazy policy? Then came the Moa reincarnation
scheme – prize winner for the most crackpot political idea of the year.

But while these two
ideas smack of political lunacy and can be quickly dismissed as such, the
Malaysian diplomat saga is more sinister: officials deliberately withholding
information from Ministers and advising another country how to get around the
law by claiming immunity to prevent a trial on one of the most serious criminal
charges. Such behaviour, with so little regard for the victim, is simply
unconscionable. Just as the diplomat is being extradited to face trial, so too
should those responsible for this appalling state of affairs be held to full
and proper account.